Dara (1953) – Review

Omar Khaiyyam’s “Dara”, which opened to a packed house at the Super Cinema on November 12, 1953, is an enjoyable, if naively directed film. Starring Sheikh Mukhtar, Begum Para, Nigar Sultana, and Mukri in important roles, the film is directed by Harish.

The story is a romantic drama with the accent on the social aspect of the perennial struggle between the landlord and the peasant farmer. In next to no time it resolves into an escapist film which the hero, wrongly accused of a crime he never committed, escapes. From then on “Dara” revolves around his efforts both to clear his name and to thwart the villainous zamindar in his plan to annex the heroine’s lands.

Replete with fun and action, the film is climaxed by a terrific sequence in which the villain and his hoods are baffled and enraged while Para, Nigar and Mukri literally make circles around them trying to escape with the most important evidence.

This sequence alone is worth the entire picture, and Harish has done a grand job on it while the stars play it with an infectious zest and robust exhilaration which carry the audience in a tremendous surge of uproarious glee.

Despite the fact that the film is jerky, “Dara” is entertaining and the full-blooded portrayals make it more so. The direction is amateurish and often crude as is evident in the patches of ham in the portrayals.

Good roles come from Begum Para and Nigar Sultana, both of whom look alluring and display lovely personalities. Sheikh Mukhtar makes a good hero and his wooden expression is more than reedemed by his magnificent presence. Mukri, of course, is good and wins roars of applause. Ansari, who portrays the villain, heads the adequate support.

The music is attractive and the songs very pleasing. The dance ensembles, though hardly classical, are attractive, and gain much from the incredibly attractive Para.

The photography is nothing to write home about and at times hardly flattering to the devastatingly attractive Para.

The film, however, with all the faults is good fun and he chase sequence is just so much gay, hilarious regalement and rambunctious joy in which one can’t help joining (Contributed by Sudarshan Talawar).

Year – 1953

Language – Hindi

Country – India

Producer – Omar Khayyam Films

Director – Harish

Music Director – Mohammed Shafi

Box-Office Status –

Cast – Sankatha Prasad, Patanjal, Shaikh Mukhtar, Begum Para, Mukri, N. A. Ansari, Nigar Sultana

Miscellaneous Information –

Songs List